The present invention relates to exercise equipment and more particularly to a variable resistance exercise apparatus which is specifically adapted to provide an improved method of aerobic and anaerobic exercising of the upper extremity and upper body portions of a user.
It is now generally recognized in the medical profession that routine exercise programs are beneficial, if not necessary, to improved cardiovascular, pulmonary, and neuro-muscular health. The recognition of these benefits associated with routine exercise has resulted in a substantial number of the general public as well as professional athletes participating in various exercise programs such as jogging, weightlifting, aerobic dancing, and/or cycling. Although all of these exercise programs have proven beneficial in their general application, they each possess certain deficiencies which have detracted from their overall effectiveness.
With specific relation to weightlifting and weight apparatus, the resultant exercise has primarily been limited to the development of specific isolated muscles in the body with such exercise failing to provide any significant interaction between related muscle groups of the body. With reference to aerobic dancing and jogging, the exercise programs have usually been impaired by their inability to apply a significant enough resistance load to the exercise to permit full muscle development. Similarly, jogging and aerobic dancing as well as the cycling apparatus programs have typically been deficient in that only the lower extremities of the users have been exercised.
As such, there exists a substantial need in the art for an improved exercise apparatus and method of exercising which provides an interaction between related muscle groups of the body, permits the application of a variable exercise load into the exercise program, and effectively exercises the upper extremities and upper body portions of the user.